Air-conditioned storage cupboard

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a climate controlled cabinet with a common controller ( 300 ) for climate and handling of the goods to be stored. By means of this design the construction and operation can be simplified and the climate control can be improved. To further improve the climate control, a heating as well as a cooling device ( 242, 244 ) are provided such that heat generated by the handling device ( 620 ) can be dissipated when necessary.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the priority of Swiss patent application0136/01, filed 26 Jan. 2001, the disclosure of which is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a climate controlled cabinet and a method foroperating such a cabinet according to the preamble of the independentclaims.

In substance research and microbiology the used objects must be storedunder exactly predefined climatic conditions. The temperatures of thestorage range typically approximately from the freezing point of waterup to room temperature. The objects usually consist of containers forseveral liquid probes. The volumes of the probes are becoming smallerand smaller, and the logistics of the objects are increasingly carriedout automatically. The capacity of the storage systems increases and,often, several such storage systems are used within one system. Thevalue of the objects stored in the storage systems is extremely high andcan be a multiple of the costs of the whole system. An accidentalmisidentification between objects must be prevented at any circumstance.

Today, storage systems are offered with integrated handling device formanipulating the objects. In WO98/05753 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,129,428, aclimate controlled cabinet with automatic access feature is described. Auser door and an automatically operable auxiliary door as well as,within the climate controlled cabinet, a positionable carousel with ahandling device are provided. The integrated handling device comprises,necessarily, sensors and driving motors. Both give off heat to theclimate controlled chamber. Because of the high insulating values of thecabinet insulation, even small heat sources can lead to substantialinherent warming of the climate controlled chamber and to undesiredcondensation at the walls, or they even make it impossible to maintainthe desired temperature. In this device, the objects can be removedeasily and quickly in case of a defect by using storage towers. Thestorage density per laboratory area in this system is, however, small.Also disadvantageous is the design of the storage towers, which does notallow a secure manual loading and unloading of the objects to be stored,does not have the mechanical precision required for automatic access andcan even represent a danger of injury at the sharp edges.

Another apparatus uses shelves for receiving the objects. Suchembodiments can, basically, be constructed to be as large as required,but they have the decisive disadvantage that the objects can only beloaded or unloaded manually in complicated manner and at a large risk ofmisidentification.

In CH 690 645 a climate controlled cabinet with user door andautomatically operable auxiliary door is described, wherein fixedlyarranged storage towers and a handling device are arranged within it.Such designs are only suited for a small number of storage towers andare therefore not suited for being used in larger systems.

In EP 1 155 743 a transport device with a drive arranged on a scoop anda counter weight is shown. This arrangement is not suited for a largenumber of accesses. If the substances have to remain within the cabinetfor a long time, the transport system should, however, be maintenancefree because maintenance work causes a loss of climatization. A furtherdisadvantage of the device according to this publication is that thearrangement of the scoop drive degrades the usage of available space ifthe scoop mechanism is used in connection with a carousel in a climatecontrolled cabinet because the horizontal arrangement of the scoop driverequires a large lateral displacement for the cog rail. This, and thelength of the motor of the scoop drive require the tapered front andback end of the scoop holder to become larger. For an arrangement of thescoop mechanism in the corner of a climate controlled chamber, as it isusual for carousel systems, this requires the carousel to be movedfurther away from the corner, which in turn requires the climatecontrolled chamber to be larger.

A common trait of the above devices is that, apart from the automaticaccess, they achieve an improvement of climatic stability by means of asmall auxiliary door. When access occurs very frequent and at short timeintervals, however, undesired climatic fluctuations occur also for thesedevices. Objects that are removed from the climate controlled chamberrequire, furthermore, substantial time until they reach the desiredstorage temperature again. This disadvantage is particularly disturbingbecause, in storage applications, the same object has often to beremoved from the climate controlled chamber and fed back repetitively inshort temporal intervals. Furthermore, the known devices cannot satisfythe desire for high access times even for large access paths while beingmaintenance-free at the same time.

In storage applications, a particular significance has to be attributedto humidity, for two reasons. First, it suffers much more under accessesthan, for example, temperature, and, second, it determines theevaporation limited storage duration of the objects in the climatecontrolled chamber. Maximum humidity—typically for solutions inwater—may be desired, as well as accurately defined humidity values,e.g. when using hygroscopic solutions, such as DMSO.

Adding a cooling device is, in the concerned applications, not possiblewithout further measures because cooling is problematic when thehumidity is high. For achieving high humidity, incubators of known typecomprise insulation plates arranged at a given distance from theincubation chamber and thus form an air coat around the incubationchamber. This results in a homogeneous temperature distribution on thewall of the incubation chamber. If this hollow space were cooled,condensed water would result.

For an insulation suited for cooling, the cavity would have to be filledby foaming. This would, however, cause a loss of the homogenization ofthe temperature that was achieved by the cavity. Furthermore, foamingwould require complicated scaffolding for receiving the forces generatedby the foaming process. Finally, a foamed isolation can hardly be openedanymore. This would make maintenance or repair work for componentsarranged around the climate controlled space impossible or at leastdifficult. Also, building a scaffolding is expensive. For the smallproduct life times, small numbers of units and large product diversityin the market of automatic incubators, such investments could not beamortised. Commercial standard devices do not have the desireddimensions for the climate controlled chamber. Also, the usual coolingused in such devices, where a cooling member is arranged in the climatecontrolled chamber or in a extended part of the climate controlledchamber, would lead to a drying out of the climate controlled chamber.This is caused by the fact that for reaching a temperature decrease, thetemperature of the cooling member must be lowered substantially belowthe desired cooling temperature.

The usual closed loop control of the temperature in cooling devices ofknown type occurs by switching the chiller on and off. In order to keepthe life time of the chiller at an acceptable level, switching has totake place at comparatively large time intervals. This has thedisadvantage that comparatively large temperature fluctuations areobserved. In addition, it is disadvantageous that vibrations occur whenswitching on and off, which can affect the precision of the handlingdevice.

Due to the heat generation of the handling device, the quality of theclimate that can be achieved is impaired. Climate fluctuations andrecovery times are substantial, in particular during a fast series ofaccesses. Devices of the above type are used in complicated and costlysystems, into which they have to be integrated with a great effort.Their limited usability is therefore especially noticeable as adisadvantage. Because of the lacking versatility it is thereforenecessary to use, depending on the application, several devices withinone system.

Just as humidity, gases are reacting very strongly to access. Even ifthe access occurs through a comparatively small opening, its opening isconnected to a distinct drop in gas concentration. The known devices formeasuring gas concentration are arranged in the climate controlledchamber and have to withstand high humidity values. This substantiallyreduces the usability of sensors, and sensors must be used that havedisadvantageous properties, such as low effective signals and drift.

Finally, the known devices are complicated to integrate into a hostsystem because many functions must be implemented by the integrator anda plurality of interfaces are necessary, or certain functions cannot becarried out by the host system at all or certain values are notaccessible for the same.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to fight at least a part of thedisadvantages mentioned above. In particular, a good control of theclimate should be achieved and/or the design or construction andmaintenance should be simplified while achieving a similarly goodcontrol.

In a first aspect of the invention, a climate controlled cabinet isprovided that has a common controller for the climatization device andfor the handling device. This allows to use synergies. In particular, acommon interface can be provided. Furthermore, the climate control canbe adapted to the current process steps of the handling device, e.g.when opening the climate controlled chamber for handling objects.

In another aspect of the invention, a heating device and a coolingdevice are provided in the climate controlled cabinet. In this manner,an improved independence of the climate temperature from theenvironmental temperature and heat generation of the handling device isachieved. In particular, a method for operating a climate controlledcabinet is provided where at least part of the heat generated by thehandling device is actively withdrawn by means of the cooling deviceeven if the desired temperature is higher than the environmentaltemperature.

In a further aspect of the invention, a temperature adaptation device isprovided inside or outside of the climate controlled chamber. Thehandling device is designed for temporarily bringing the object to beentered into storage or removed from storage into contact with thetemperature adaptation device prior to moving it to its storage positionor after removing it from its storage position. This allows to quicklymatch the temperature of the object with the current requirements.

When entering objects into the climate controlled cabinet, thetemperature adaptation device can be used for quickly matching thetemperature of the object with the chamber temperature without causingfluctuations of the chamber temperature. If the temperature in thechamber is higher than the temperature of the environment, a heatedtemperature adaptation device is preferably provided outside the climatecontrolled chamber such that the object temperature can be increasedbefore the object is introduced into the chamber. This prevents theformation of condensation. In cooling applications, a temperatureadaptation device inside the climate controlled chamber, on which theobject temperature can be lowered quickly, is preferably used.

In a further aspect of the invention, the climate controlled cabinet isprovided with a centering device, which allows a self-centering couplingto an external system or device, such as an external object conveyorsystem. This simplifies the design and modification of correspondingplants.

In another aspect of the invention, several storage towers are arrangedon top of each other inside the climate controlled chamber. Thisimproves space usage in the vertical direction. It leads to an increasein storage capacity while simultaneously allowing a simple manualhandling. Alternatively or in addition to this, higher storage towersreinforced by at least one stiffening member can be used.

A further aspect of the invention relates to a storage tower of metalwith lateral ledges forming supports for receiving the objects. Eachledge is a metal member friction locked or positively locked to one ofthe side walls. This simplifies production while the ledges can still bemanufactured accurately. Due to its metal design the storage tower canbe autoclaved.

In another aspect the walls of the climate controlled cabinet aremanufactured from metal sheets. A part of the walls has bent edges thatthe corresponding next walls can be attached to. This simplifies themanufacture of the climate controlled cabinet.

In a further aspect, the handling device of the climate controlledcabinet comprises a scoop holder that can be pivoted about a verticalaxis, as well as be displaced parallel to the vertical axis. The scoopholder holds the scoop, which can be extended perpendicularly to thevertical axis by means of an extension drive mounted to the scoopholder. The extension drive is arranged at the rear end of the scoopholder and the longitudinal axis of the extension drive (624) isvertical. This has the advantage that the space at the rear end of thescoop holder is well used.

Another aspect of the invention relates to climate controlled cabinetsin the climate controlled chamber of which at least one rotatablecarousel is provided, in which a plurality of storage positions forreceiving the objects to be stored is arranged in star shaped manneraround an axis of the carousel. The handling device has a scoop, whichcan be displaced horizontally and vertically and be pivoted about avertical axis. For compensating the weight during vertical movements ofthe scoop, a counter weight is provided in the carousel axis andattached via a weight deflection. This allows a good exploitation of thespace in the carousel axis.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further embodiments, advantages and applications of the invention aregiven in the dependent claims and in the now following description,which makes reference to the figures. These show:

FIG. 1 a a front view of a first embodiment of the climate controlledcabinet,

FIG. 1 b the front view of a second embodiment of the climate controlledcabinet,

FIG. 2 a the front view of an embodiment of a storage tower,

FIG. 2 b a side view of the storage tower of FIG. 2 a,

FIG. 2 c a detail of the storage tower of FIG. 2 a,

FIG. 2 d an embodiment of a stiffening device of the storage tower,

FIG. 3 a a sectional view of an insulation according to the invention,

FIG. 3 b a sectional view of a first temperature control device withPeltier elements,

FIG. 3 c a sectional view of a second temperature control device withPeltier elements,

FIG. 3 d a block circuit diagram for the cooling control according tothe invention with compressor aggregate,

FIG. 4 a the side view of an embodiment of a temperature adaptationdevice,

FIG. 4 b the side view of an embodiment of the climate controlledcabinet with two temperature adaptation devices,

FIG. 5 a the side view of a climate controlled cabinet with centeringdevice,

FIG. 5 b the top view of the climate controlled cabinet with centeringdevice,

FIG. 6 a the top view of a climate controlled cabinet with anadvantageous scoop drive,

FIG. 6 b a top view of a handling device with counter weight, and

FIG. 7 a block diagram of the controller of the device according to theinvention.

WAYS FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Common to all embodiments of the climate controlled cabinet shown herethe climate controlled cabinet comprises a climate controlled chamber 2and a control chamber 4.

A plurality of storage-positions 8 for the objects 9 to be stored areprovided in climate controlled chamber 2. It has an outer and an inneruser door 210 and 220, respectively, at the front side and an auxiliarydoor 15 at the back side. The user doors 210, 220 serve for manualaccess to the interior of climate controlled chamber 2. Outer user door210 is thermally insulated and non-transparent, the inner user door hasa transparent, thermally insulated double glazing. Within climatecontrolled chamber 2, a handling device 620 is arranged forautomatically transporting the objects between the storage positions anda transfer position outside the climate controlled cabinet, for whichpurpose auxiliary door 15 is used.

A controller as well as various apparatus 5 for generating heat, coldand/or controlled atmosphere are arranged in control chamber 4. Aninterface is provided for the computer controlled operation of theclimate controlled cabinet.

The interior of climate controlled chamber 2 is kept at fixedtemperature and under given atmospheric conditions by means of aclimatization device. For this purpose, the climatization devicecomprises the mentioned apparatus for generating heat, warmth and/orcontrolled atmosphere, as well as various parts described in thefollowing.

In FIG. 1 a an embodiment of the climate controlled cabinet is shown. Itcomprises a display 500 with display fields 512-523 for displayingimportant information, such as the temperature, relevant humidity andCO₂ content in climate controlled chamber 2. An acoustic alert system512 informs the user about inadmissible states of the system. Inaddition, one or more input elements 511 are provided, by means of whicha part of the functions of the climate controlled cabinet can becontrolled.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1 a, a carousel 600 rotatable about a verticalaxis 601 is arranged in climate controlled chamber 2. Reinforced storagetowers 650 are removably stored on carousel 600.

In FIG. 1 b, a climate controlled cabinet with a climate controlledchamber 2 is shown in which several storage towers 650 and two rotatablecarousels 600, 610, respectively, are arranged on top of each other forenlarging the storage capacity for a given footprint area. By arrangingtwo carousels on top of each other, a stiffening of the control towers650 on the carousels 600, 610 can be dispensed with.

The carousels of the climate controlled cabinets of FIGS. 1 a and 1 bare loaded and unloaded by means of a handling device 620 (only visiblein FIG. 1 b). Handling device 620 comprises a scoop 621 for receiving anobject, wherein scoop 621 can be rotated about a vertical axis ofrotation and be displaced parallel to the axis of rotation and beextended perpendicularly to the axis of rotation. Such a handling deviceis described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,129,428.

FIGS. 2 a and 2 b show an embodiment of a storage tower 650. A left anda right side wall 902, 906 of sheet metal are arranged on a base plate901 by means of a holding device 904. The side walls 902, 906 areconnected at their upper ends via a holder plate 903. At the back sideof the storage tower, a wall member 905 is arranged as connecting memberbetween holder plate 903 and base plate 901. Lateral ledges 910 forreceiving the objects are arranged on the walls 902, 906. The ledges 910are metal parts, which are mounted to one of the side walls inpositively locked or friction locked manner. Hence, they can bemanufactured separately and with high precision. Since they consist ofmetal, they can still withstand high temperatures (e.g. duringautoclavation).

The ledges 910 are preferably made from metal sheets and comprise frontand rear ends bent upwards, which form retention pins 912 and preventthe objects from sliding off.

FIG. 2 c shows a detailed view of a ledge 910. At a side facing the sidewall 902 or 906, respectively, of the storage tower, ledge 910 comprisessplay members 911. The splay members 911 are led through openings 913 ofthe side walls 902, 906. Each splay member 911 consists of two tongues.A gap 915 is arranged between the tongues, by means of which the tongues911 can be splayed by means of a tool and are thus held in positivelylocking or at least friction locking manner in the openings 913 of theside walls 902, 906.

To improve stability, the side walls 902, 906 rest with bent ends 909 onbase plate 901 and are screwed to base plate 909 or attached to the baseplate via the ends 909 in different manner.

Since storage tower 650 is a removable transport container, the properweight of which should be small, it is manufactured from a comparativelythin metal sheet. Due to the small material thickness, the storagetowers built in this manner can only be manufactured for a limitedheight with required precision. For this reason, at least one stiffeningmember 920 can be arranged between the upper and the lower end of thestorage tower.

FIG. 2 d shows an embodiment of stiffening member 920. It provides anexact positioning of the side walls 902, 906. Analogously to the ledges910, stiffening member 920 has ledge surfaces 926, 927, which areconnected via a connecting web 928 extending behind wall member 905.Connecting web 928 is connected to wall member 905. For lateralattachment, stiffening member 920 comprises, analogously to the ledges910, lateral tongues 921 with gaps 925, which are introduced intocorresponding openings of the side walls 902, 906 and splayed therein.

At the rear side, an attachment plate 923 connected to wall member 905by means of a screw 924 is arranged on stiffening member 920.

Due to the exclusive application of steel and the shown arrangement ofthe parts, a particularly high long time stability and shock resistanceof the storage tower is achieved. Furthermore, the storage towerswithstand high temperatures, as they occur during autoclavation.

FIG. 3 a shows the design of a temperature control device 240, which ispart of the climatization device mentioned before. Temperature controldevice 240 is, with the exception of the door areas, arranged around thewhole climate controlled chamber 2. A heating surface 242 and a coolingsurface 244 are arranged around inner wall 241 of the climate controlledchamber. The two surfaces are, when viewed from the inside of climatecontrolled chamber 2, designed as two metal layers located on top ofeach other. Heating surface 242 is designed as a metal sheet or foilwith glued-on or integrated heating wires. Cooling surface 244 is also ametal sheet or metal foil with integrated or attached tubes for thecooling liquid. Because the heating wires and the tubes, respectively,are connected to each other by means of the metal sheet or the foil, thetemperature distribution is made homogeneous, which reduces undesiredformation of condensate on the chamber walls.

To improve the homogeneity of the temperature distribution further, anair gap 243 is provided. Because in particular the tubes of the coolingsurface cannot be arbitrarily small nor be arranged at a high density,it is advantageous to arrange air gap 243 in the area between coolingsurface 244 and inner wall 241. In FIG. 3 a, air gap 243 is locatedbetween cooling surface 244 and heating surface 242, but it can also belocated between heating surface 242 and inner wall 241.

Heating surface 242 and cooling surface 244 are surfaces that correspondat least to the surface of the climate controlled chamber wall and thatsurround climate controlled chamber 2 on all sides (with the exceptionof the door areas). The planar arrangement of the heating and coolingsurface allows to form an optimally large area for coupling in thetemperature. In addition, a homogeneous temperature distribution on thewall of the climate controlled chamber is achieved. It is particularlyadvantageous that the cooling device is arranged over all walls ofclimate controlled chamber 2 (with the possible exception of the areasof the user doors 210, 220 and auxiliary door 15) and cools the samehomogeneously. This reduces condensation, and a high humidity can beachieved.

Heating surface 242, cooling surface 244 and air gap 243 are surroundedby an insulation layer 245. The insulation layer is gas tight such thatno air can penetrate from the outside to cooling surface 244. Bysurrounding cooling surface 244 on the outside by a gas tight insulationlayer, an undesired condensation can be prevented.

Insulation layer 245 consists of gas tight insulation mats, which areglued to cooling surface 244 and sealed at their seams between eachother. Using mats allows a gas tight construction without the need forfoaming. Furthermore, the mats can be removed if required, e.g. forcarrying out maintenance work on cooling surface 244.

In addition to this, a heat reflecting layer 246 can be arranged betweenthe outer wall 247 of the climate controlled cabinet and insulationlayer 245.

Hence, a heating device (e.g. in the form of heating surface 242) aswell as a cooling device (e.g. in the form of cooling surface 244) areprovided in the climate controlled cabinet. This is preferably also thecase when the interior of climate controlled cabinet 2 is to be warmerthan the environment. The cooling device allows to dissipate the heatfrom the driving motors of handling device 620, arranged in the interiorof climate controlled chamber 2, at any time and thus to keep thetemperature constant. Hence, using the cooling device makes even senseif the climate controlled cabinet is only to be used for storing objectsat a temperature that, compared to the environment, is elevated, such asat 37° C. The climate controlled cabinets shown here can, however, alsobe used, without modification in design, for storing objects at atemperature that is reduced as compared to the environment, i.e. withany climate controlled cabinet a large range of temperatures of e.g.−20° C. (or lower) up to 70° C. (or higher) can be covered.

The embodiment of a temperature control device 240 shown in FIG. 3 buses Peltier elements for cooling and heating, respectively. The Peltierelements 50 are mounted on a thermally conducting metal sheet 251, whichsurrounds the inner wall 241 of climate controlled chamber 2. Thethermally conducting metal sheet again serves to homogenize the coolingof the Peltier elements, which is, when compared to the complete coolingsurface, point-wise only. On the second side of the Peltier elements aheat matching layer 252 is arranged. When cooling thermally conductingmetal sheet 251, excess heat is dissipated to the environment viathermal matching layer 252. For improving the heat removal, heatmatching layer 252 comprises cavities 253, through which a fluid fortaking off heat is flowing. This fluid can be air or a liquid. Heatmatching layer 252 is provided with a heating layer 251. This heatinglayer is active while heating the Peltier elements of the thermallyconductive layer and prevents a cooling of heat matching layer 252 and acorresponding condensation on the heat matching layer. Insulation layer245 encloses the temperature control device in gas tight manner.

In the sectional view of a temperature control device 240 view shown inFIG. 3 c a heating layer 242 is arranged between wall 241 and Peltierelement 250. In this arrangement, Peltier element 250 in only activewhen the climate controlled chamber is to be cooled. Heating of theclimate controlled chamber occurs in this case directly by means ofheating layer 242.

FIG. 3 d shows a preferred embodiment of a chiller for cooling thecooling surface 244. It comprises—in per-se known manner—a compressor401, which feeds a cooling fluid to a condenser 402, from where thecooling fluid reaches an injection valve 403 and from there to theactual cooling tubes 404, which withdraw heat from cooling surface 244.In addition, an auxiliary valve is arranged between the output ofcompressor 401 and the output of injection valve 403, by means of whichcondenser 402 (and injection valve 403) can be shunted. When auxiliaryvalve 405 is opened, the temperature of the cooling fluid in the coolingtubes 404 is increased.

The temperature of the cooling tubes and the cooling surface 244,respectively, is preferably controlled by opening and closing auxiliaryvalve 405 while keeping compressor 401 in operation continuously. Whencompared to devices where the compressor is switched on and off fortemperature control, in this solution vibrations due to switching thecompressor on and off are reduced and the life time of the plant isincreased.

FIG. 4 a shows a lateral view of a temperature adaptation device 40, asit can e.g. be arranged on the climate controlled cabinet in front ofauxiliary door 15. An object 8 to be stored is arranged on a centeringframe 41 with centering pins 46. Centering frame 41 has a tub shape.Inside the centering frame, there is a plate 43 that can be displaced inheight. The same is fed by a temperature source 47 and can be offsetvertically by means of a plate elevator 44 with a drive 45. The size ofplate 43 corresponds approximately to the size of an object 8 to bestored. By lifting plate 43, a contact between plate 43 and the floor ofobject 8 is established. By means of this contact, the speed of thetemperature settling time can be increased drastically. By an over-orunderheating, respectively, of the temperature controllable plate,nearly arbitrarily short settling times can be achieved.

If an object 8 is to be brought into the climate controlled cabinet, itcan first be brought onto temperature adaptation device 40. There, itstemperature is matched to or at least brought close to the interiortemperature of the climate controlled cabinet. Then auxiliary door 15 isopened and handling device 620 brings object 8 to the desired positioninside the climate controlled cabinet.

By means of the temperature adaptation device 40 outside the climatecontrolled cabinet, temperature fluctuations within the cabinet causedby the heat capacity of objects brought in can be reduced.

In heating applications the temperature adaptation device 40 outside theclimate controlled cabinet has the further advantage that objects arenot substantially colder than its interior when they are brought insidesuch that a condensation is prevented.

Temperature adaptation device 40 further serves as a transfer positionbetween handling device 620 and an external transport system.

A further embodiment of a cabinet is shown in FIG. 4 b, where thestorage towers 650 are not arranged on a carousel but are stationaryinside climate controlled chamber 2.

In the cabinet of FIG. 4 b a second temperature adaptation device 40′ isarranged inside the climate controlled cabinet. It comprises a metalsupport plate 43′, which either passively matches the temperature of thecabinet or is actively heated or cooled. Preferably, it hasapproximately the same temperature as the interior of climate controlledchamber 2.

Temperature adaptation device 40′ arranged in the interior is preferablyused in cooling applications. An object to be brought into the climatecontrolled cabinet is first placed by handling 620 on temperatureadaptation device 40′, where, thanks to the heat capacity of supportplate 43′, its temperature falls comparatively quickly and substantiallywithout affecting the temperature stability of the chamber to thedesired value-without any condensation taking place. During this,support plate 43′ serves as a heat reservoir for buffering the heat ofthe object.

FIGS. 5 a and 5 b show a further embodiment of a climate controlledcabinet with three stationary storage towers 650, which are aligned tothe rotational axis of handling device 620 in symmetric arrangement,wherein the handling device 620 is located between the storage towers650 and the auxiliary door.

At least one cone 151 of a centering device is provided at the back sideof the climate controlled cabinet. A matching part 152 for the centeringdevice is mounted to an external object conveyor system 100. By means ofthe centering device, the climate controlled cabinet can be alignedeasily and exactly in self centering manner to the external system.

As it can be seen from FIG. 5 b, handling device 620 and the storagetowers 650 are mounted to a base plate 630 arranged in climatecontrolled chamber 2. Base plate 630 is displaceably mounted in climatecontrolled chamber 2. The handling device 620 with the storage towers650 can be positioned by means of adjustable horizontal stops 651, 652and 653 by pushing two edges of base plate 630 against the stops 651,652 and 653. The stops 651, 652 and 653 are aligned in such a manner inrespect to the centering device that the storage positions, the handlingdevice 620 and the transfer position 110 are in correct relation to eachother. This allows a quick and secure positioning of the componentswithin climate controlled chamber 2 in respect to the cones 151 and theexternal system 100.

The external object conveyor system 100 can e.g. comprise a transferposition 110 (e.g. of the type of temperature adaptation device 40), aswell as an automatic transport system for the objects.

As can be seen from FIG. 5 a, a sealing 230 is provided between theclimate controlled chamber and the user doors 210, 220. Preferably,sealing 230 is heated, e.g. by means of a heating wire arranged insidethe profile of the sealing, such that there is no condensation in theinterior at the sealing, even at elevated temperature and humidatmosphere. This allows to increase the maximum humidity in theinterior.

A heated sealing 230 can also be used for auxiliary door 15.

In order to avoid a condensation in particular for heating applicationsat the interior of the inner user doors 220, the inner user door can beheated. This can e.g. be achieved by heating wires on the outside of theinner user door 220 or between the inner and the outer user door or inthe outer user door.

FIG. 6 a shows a climate controlled cabinet with carousel 611. As shown,handling device 620 comprises a scoop holder 625 arranged in a corner ofclimate controlled chamber 2 and being vertically displaceable androtatable about a vertical axis. Scoop holder 625 carries the scoop 621.It comprises a forward end 625 a, beyond which scoop 621 can beextended, and a rear end 625 b.

Scoop 621 is driven horizontally by means of a pinion 622 running on acog rail 623. The extension drive 624 for extending the scoop isvertically displaceable together with the scoop. It is mounted at rearend 625 b of scoop holder 625 and has a longitudinal axis perpendicularto scoop 621. Cog rail 623 is arranged at a small distance from linearguide 626 of scoop 621. In this manner, the scoop drive motor 624 iscompactly arranged on the carriage part 627 of the scoop holder, whichcarriage part is tapered towards the rear end. The effective length ofthe scoop holder 625 is of particular significance for a climatecontrolled cabinet with carousel because, in that case, the elevatorassembly of the handling device 620 is arranged in the approximatelytriangular space 628 formed by two side walls of climate controlledchamber 2 and the circumference of carousel 611. The part of thediagonal, however, that lies in this approximately triangular space 628corresponds, in conventional storage systems, only to the length of theobjects.

FIG. 6 b shows a storage system suited for frequent access and for aquick crossing of the comparatively large paths by handling device 620along its vertical guiding rail 629. In this embodiment, the properweight of the vertically movable part of handling device 620 iscompensated by a counter weight 640. In order to exploit the spaceoptimally, counter weight 640 is arranged in the center of rotation ofcarousel 611, i.e. in the axis of the carousel. A protecting tubularshell 641 surrounds counter weight 640, which is simultaneously used asa ventilation tube. For this purpose, a blower 642 is arranged at theend section of tubular shell 541. The counter weight is hung by a flatbelt 643 serving as weight deflection, which is connected to thevertically movable part of the handling device via two deflectionrollers 644, 645. By using flat belt 653, the fatigue due to thesubstantial strain caused by the small radii of the deflection rollers644, 645 is reduced. A flat belt 643 has a width that is large ascompared to its thickness.

FIG. 6 b further shows the advantageous arrangement of the housing partsmeeting the requirements in view of flexibility and simplicity. A frontmetal sheet 223 is directly connected to the climate controlled chamberby means of insulation parts. Lateral walls 223, 224 are mounted tofront metal sheet 223. A back wall is in its turn mounted to the lateralwalls 222, 224. The lateral walls 222, 224 are metal sheets that arebent perpendicularly at their edges. Screw threads are provided in thebent faces. The front metal sheet and the back wall are attached to thescrew threads by means of screws. Hence, only simple, in part bent metalsheets are required for the housing.

FIG. 7 shows important functional blocks of the climate controlledcabinet and in particular of controller 300 of the same. Controller 300is based on a computer and has several functional parts, the mostimportant of which are shown in FIG. 7.

A climate controller 302 communicates with climate sensors 304, whichmeasure the temperature and atmosphere (e.g. humidity andCO₂-concentration) in climate controlled chamber 2. It controls theclimatization device 306, which comprises the mentioned heating andcooling device as well as an atmosphere control, according to the sensorsignals and the given desired values. Atmosphere control 308 is designedto feed a gas (e.g. CO₂ or O₂) and/or water or vapor to climatecontrolled chamber 2.

The climatization device 306 can also control further or otherparameters of the climate controlled chamber, such as an illumination ofthe stored goods with light of a given spectral range.

A handling controller 310 controls the movements of handling device 620,a door opener 328 of auxiliary door 15 and the functions of temperatureadaptation device 40. For this purpose, it can e.g. follow commands thatare delivered through an interface 312 from a host system. But it canalso, at least partially, work autonomously and e.g. determine by itselfit at which free position an object to be stored is to be deposited.

A list of stored objects 314 can be provided to record which objects aredeposited at which storage positions. For this purpose, it is alsopossible to provide an object identification device 315 at the climatecontrolled cabinet, which is able to identify objects, e.g. at thetransfer position 110. The object identification can e.g. be designed asbarcode reader or reader for electronic tags, wherein the objects areprovided with a corresponding marking.

A scheduling function 318 monitors the duration of storage of eachobject in the storage cabinet and compares the same with given limitingvalues. If an object has e.g. been in the storage cabinet for a certaintime, it can emit an alert, e.g. via alert system 512 or interface 312.

Safety logics 320 are provided for monitoring limiting values and, ifnecessary, for releasing an alert, and/or for detecting an opening ofuser door 210 and taking appropriate measures (alert, notification ofthe climatization controller). For this purpose, door contacts 322 areprovided.

A function block titled “user interface” 324 assumes the control andmonitoring of display 500 and input elements 511.

Interface 312 provides a common interface for substantially allfunctions of controller 300. In particular, the desired values of theclimate controller loop 302 can be set, the operation of handlingcontroller 310 can be controlled and the current state values of theclimate controlled cabinet can be sampled via interface 312.

Finally, service information 326 is stored in controller 300, such asthe accumulated time of operation, which can be read out by the user orvia interface 312.

By controlling all functions of the climate controlled cabinet by meansof a common controller, advantageous synergies can be achieved.

For example, controller 300 knows when auxiliary door 15 is opened andhow long it will probably be opened. It can use this information foroptimizing climate controller 302. Because, when opening the auxiliarydoor, an undesired heat exchange between the environment and theinterior of climate controlled chamber 2 takes place, a temporaryheating or cooling-surge can be generated upon opening (i.e. even priorto opening, during the duration of the open state, and/or afteropening). Also, a loss of humidity and/or gas through the opened doorcan be corrected instantaneously. It is not necessary to wait forcorresponding signals of the sensors 304. Controller 300 is thereforedesigned such that it controls the climatization device 306 in such amanner that a heat- and/or gas exchange through the opened auxiliarydoor 15 is counteracted upon opening auxiliary door 15 and withoutwaiting for a change of the signals of the climate sensors 304

The controller further comprises a stand-by mode, in which the activecomponents of the transport system are operated with reduced power whenthe transport system is not moving. This reduces disturbances of thesensitive climate inside the climate controlled chamber.

While the present application describes preferred embodiments of theinvention, it is to be pointed out clearly that the invention is notlimited thereto and can also be carried out in different manner withinthe scope of the following claims.

1. A climate controlled cabinet comprising: a cabinet housing; a climatecontrolled chamber located within the cabinet housing; a climatizationdevice for generating a given temperature and atmosphere within theclimate controlled chamber; a plurality of storage towers arrangedwithin the generated given temperature and atmosphere within the climatecontrolled chamber, wherein each storage tower comprises a plurality ofstorage positions arranged above each other for objects to be stored andis removable from the climate controlled chamber; and a handling devicearranged in the climate controlled chamber for manipulating the objects,wherein, within the generated given temperature and atmosphere withinsaid climate controlled chamber, at least two of the plurality ofstorage towers are arranged one above the other and at least two of theplurality of towers are arranged beside each other.
 2. A climatecontrolled cabinet comprising: a cabinet housing; a climate controlledchamber located within the cabinet housing; a climatization device forgenerating a given temperature and atmosphere within the climatecontrolled chamber; a plurality of storage towers arranged within thegenerated given temperature and atmosphere within the climate controlledchamber, wherein each storage tower comprises a plurality of storagepositions arranged above each other for objects to be stored and isremovable from the climate controlled chamber; a handling devicearranged in the climate controlled chamber for manipulating the objects;and at least two rotatable carousels located within the generated giventemperature and atmosphere within the climate controlled chamber andarranged on top of each other for receiving the storage towers. wherein,within the generated given temperature and atmosphere within saidclimate controlled chamber, at least two of the plurality of storagetowers are one arranged above the other.
 3. The climate controlledcabinet of claim 1 having exactly two levels of storage towers arrangedabove each other.
 4. A climate controlled cabinet comprising: a cabinethousing; a climate controlled chamber located within the cabinethousing; a climatization device comprising a cooling device for at leastone of generating and maintaining a given temperature within the climatecontrolled chamber and an atmosphere control to generate a givenatmosphere within the climate controlled chamber; at least two rotatablecarousels located within the climate controlled chamber and on top ofeach other, wherein each carousel carries a plurality of storage towers,and each storage tower comprises a plurality of storage positionsarranged one above the other for objects to be stored and is removablefrom the climate controlled chamber; a handling device arranged in theclimate controlled chamber for manipulating the objects; and wherein,within said climate controlled chamber, at least two of the plurality ofstorage towers are arranged one above the other.
 5. The climatecontrolled cabinet of claim 4, wherein the climatization device furthercomprises a heating device.
 6. The climate controlled cabinet of claim4, wherein the at least two rotatable carousels are arranged within theat least one of the generated and maintained temperature and thegenerated atmosphere within the climate controlled chamber.